Where Literature Lives, and Voices Rise
When the Guadalajara
International Book Fair first opened its doors in 1987, it wasn’t trying to
become a global giant overnight. It simply wanted to create a welcoming home
where Latin American literature could thrive, connect, and be celebrated.
Founded by the University of Guadalajara, FIL grew steadily through community,
creativity, and a deep respect for storytelling. Over the years, it transformed
from a regional event into the largest Spanish-language book fair in the world,
admired for its purpose-driven growth and cultural impact.
Today, FIL feels like a vibrant world of its own. Across its massive halls, visitors move through book launches, workshops, illustration festivals, film screenings, academic panels, cultural performances, and international publishing meetings. With more than 900,000 visitors and thousands of exhibitors from over sixty countries, the fair brings together readers, authors, educators, and industry leaders in one dynamic and creative space.
This year’s Guest of Honor is Barcelona,
a city shaped by centuries of artistic innovation, multilingual literature, and
fearless storytelling. The theme celebrates Barcelona’s character through
Catalan books, performances, culinary showcases, and conversations with
creators who continue to influence global culture. FIL invites visitors to step
into the rhythm and imagination of a city that has always inspired the world.
Amid this incredible showcase of global creativity, Kravitz & Sons proudly steps into FIL 2025, bringing stories that matter and voices worth remembering. We’re excited to feature GUANTANAMO, a bold and intoxicating novel that blends desire, deception, and psychological tension—ready to meet readers from around the world in a place built for stories that endure.
The Voice Behind the Chaos
Carlos Potes writes with a mischievous sharpness—an author unafraid to expose human contradictions through layers of humor, erotic tension, and emotional rawness. His prose balances between playful and piercing, ensuring that even the most chaotic moments feel deliberate and artfully constructed. Potes’ storytelling style thrives on shifting moods, mirroring the unpredictable emotional terrain his characters occupy.
For readers new to his work, Potes offers a refreshing break from conventional narrative forms. Rather than adhering to strict structure, he embraces a fluid, almost cinematic rhythm—where scenes flicker between ecstasy and despair, intimacy and betrayal. His writing feels like stepping into a hall of mirrors: reflections distort, truths bend, and the only constant is the lingering question of who—or what—can be trusted.
A Novel of Desire, Conflict, and Illusion
At its core, GUANTANAMO is a story about a visa marriage gone disastrously wrong—a relationship built on convenience, compromised dreams, and conflicting motives. The “characters” move through a psychological battlefield where passion and deception collide. Their desires drive them into shadowy moral corners, and their fears pull them back into desperation. No one escapes unchanged.
The novel’s setting stretches far beyond physical locations. It unfolds in shifting emotional landscapes—rooms thick with tension, moments flooded with longing, and scenes clouded by mistrust. Potes uses these atmospheres to blur the lines between truth and illusion, creating a narrative where nothing is what it seems and every motive hides another layer beneath it.
One of the most striking elements of the book is its introspective narrator, a conscience that behaves like a Cheshire cat—slipping in and out of scenes, smirking at the characters’ missteps, and guiding readers through the moral gray zones with equal parts charm and discomfort. The lesson? Love, ambition, lust, and greed will always reveal a person’s true nature, especially when the stakes are high and the masks begin to crack. Through its quick, breezy prose and its ever-shifting emotional tone, GUANTANAMO becomes both entertaining and unflinchingly honest.
Where Fiction Meets the Rawness of Human Truth
As the world gathers at FIL 2025 to celebrate stories that spark dialogue and challenge perspectives, GUANTANAMO stands out as a daring, emotionally charged exploration of the human heart—its faults, its ambitions, and its contradictions. If you’re looking for a novel that seduces, unsettles, and refuses to let go, this is the story that will pull you in and keep you turning the pages.
